Broad Proteomics and Health Management

More than a decade ago, SomaLogic published the first paper to accurately quantify the concentrations of many human proteins (epitopes really, since we used as binding reagents SOMAmers/aptamers that contacted a small domain of a target protein – about a thousand square angstroms or so). The emphasis since that early paper has been on expanding the number of proteins measured (now at more than 11,000 at SomaLogic), making sure that the accuracy/CV’s of the measurements were high. Many clinical samples—largely plasma, some sera, urine, and even some tissue extracts—were used to get a feel for the kinds of human biology that might be revealed through proteomics of this kind. Our North Star was to provide something equivalent to thousands of individual ELISA’s done easily on small volumes of precious samples.

SomaLogic has run about 700,000 samples on SomaScan, while making it possible for others to use SomaScan for their own research purposes. Hundreds of papers have been published using SomaScan and other broad proteomic platforms. The shared goal has been to enable researchers to do proteomics as easily as they do genomics. It is common today for scientists to couple genomics, transcriptomics, and proteomics to study biology.

What will it take for the clinical community to embrace broad proteomics with the same fervor as has the basic research community? SomaLogic has studied samples from clinical cohorts with common diseases and with rare diseases. Disease detection/occurrence, staging, sensible interventions, and outcomes are available from proteomics. Could we anticipate that proteomics, done frequently over time, will become a health management tool used for large fractions of the global population? The required pieces toward that end will include: precision diagnoses that are more frequent than without proteomics, improved health outcomes, and small costs for healthcare systems relative to those improved outcomes. Published suggestions assert that the first two requirements are on the way. In this presentation, Larry will focus on his understanding that today’s costs for broad proteomics (for SomaScan as the example) could fall precipitously in the years ahead.